Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Wednesday, May 01, 2002 Just a Stage Mother After All I went with my daughter, Shana, to our community college, Sacramento City, so she could audition for their productions of Shakespeare in the Park staged each summer. The plays this year are Henry V, and Much Ado About Nothing (my daughter's favorite). All actors needed to have a 1.5 minute Shakespeare monologue prepared which Shana had quite ready since one's been in her repertoir for awhile due to her drama class; and she's polished it quite well. We arrived at the school theater to find 35-45 other people, mostly college students, applying. Twice as many women than men, though. The crowd made me realize just how good my daughter's chances for a part were since her performance (despite a cold) would probably be as good as anyone else's, but also because she is lovely with a beautiful figure. Almost all of the women I saw were either thick, chubby, obese, plain, or homely. One or two other young women were attractive, but not quite as much as Shana - and it struck me powerfully in that circumstance how exceedingly important good looks are in the field of public performance. The audience (plus playwrites and directors) wants to see ideal representatives of heroes and heroines - which means beauty. Sure, a great but plain actress could play Helen of Troy, but the audience has to overcome its immediate dismay and disappointment - and why make it hard on an audience? The easy way to win their approval (and $'s) is to cast a great and beautiful actress. Kathy Bates is a fine actress, but so is Nicole Kidman whose beauty I find very alluring. Now, my daughter may do well locally, but what about when she goes to NYC? When beautiful faces and figures are a dime a dozen, then talent and luck are everything. She has the talent, but the luck? That remains to be seen, but she got called back for more auditions for both plays last night. It looks like she'll get a part even if its just as a glorified spear carrier (but she's perfect for Hero in Much Ado). posted by Mark Butterworth | 11:41 AM | |
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